Sport

Hargreaves points to U's skipper's bravery as the difference

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by David Pritchard, Chief Sports Reporter covering Oxford United. Follow us on twitter: @oxfordmailoufc. Call me on 01865 425458

Chris Hargreaves admitted Jake Wright’s determination was key as his Torquay United side slipped to a 1-0 defeat at Oxford United.

The relegation strugglers had few bright moments going forward, but almost snatched a late equaliser when Kevin Nicholson’s free-kick struck the crossbar.

The ball looped into the air and back into play. With goalkeeper Ryan Clarke out of position after diving to save the initial set-piece, the net was unguarded.

It led to a foot race among the players following up, which Wright won to head away to safety.

The U’s skipper injured himself in the process and was taken to hospital with a nasty cut.

Hargreaves bemoaned the fact Wright had beaten Billy Bodin to the ball, preventing a certain goal.

The Gulls boss said: “It’s a learning curve for everyone.

“Jump early, go and break your nose, score the equaliser. “You either do that or (Wright) clears it off the line. He did that and got a big gash in his leg, that’s why they won 1-0, because he did that.”

Defeat left Torquay in the relegation zone, but Hargreaves, who had two spells at Oxford as a player, put it down to one poor moment and felt it was no reason for concern.

He said: “We’ve worked on our defensive line for the two weeks I’ve been in and unfortunately it was bad judgement first and second for the goal.

“It was a scrappy game and probably had 0-0 written all over it.

“The players are disappointed because they wanted to come to a team here and beat them.